


One Second

by molly16



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Gen, I'll leave that up to your imagination, because that is what this is, but like maybe?, but there is most definitely no murder in this, is there a writing prompt fandom?, it could be?, kind of inspired by "it had to be murder", not a fanfic but this is the only account i have so it's going here, so no explicit THIS IS MURDER, there's not all that much backstory so, well unless you read into a few of the things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2019-04-24 10:48:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14353920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/molly16/pseuds/molly16
Summary: Pause. This is the moment.Rewind. Every moment has a story.Play. Every second must pass.





	One Second

**Author's Note:**

> There was a prompt floating around online that said, "Write a story that takes place in one second." So, I did it. And I actually did it without any names (except the dog), which was a little challenge for myself. Enjoy.

_Pause._ A blink of an eye, a heartbeat, a downbeat. She kisses her son goodnight, across town he walks out the door for the night shift as his daughter walks in from practice. Mundane things. Someone else is saying goodbye to a pet, while another is being surprised with a puppy. A family is broken down to tears over a loved one’s passing, another family is rejoicing the birth of a brand new family member.

_Rewind._ Every moment has a story leading up to it.

The mother’s son can’t fall asleep without a bedtime story and being wrapped up like a burrito in his blankets. It started as something she did to know that he was safe, to know his last thoughts before drifting off would be of telling the moon goodnight. Now, it’s something he needs more than her, but she cherishes the moment, knowing that it won’t last forever.

He just got put on the night shift. The physician assistant that’s not new enough to need supervision, but all too often seems to draw the short straw. It’s not all bad, though. The night shift is usually when the most interesting cases come in and when he has the most freedom since the doctors want the most sleep as possible. The E.R. was (almost) all his tonight.

She just came back from band practice, her arms and legs equal parts tired and freezing from marching, dancing, and spinning her way across the field. There are going to be a few new bruises on her leg from the run where she had butterfingers and kept dropping the rifle, but that was nothing new. Being in guard, especially when you’re new at it, means bruises everywhere and exhausted muscles most days.

Luna had ran out into the street to eat up a dropped piece of food. The vets did everything they could, but it wasn’t enough. Their 3 year old dog wasn’t going back home with them. She had so much ahead of her, she was going to be a therapy dog at the middle school and have the love of all the students there. They knew it was absolutely insane to think about a dog like that, but that’s how they felt about her. She was family, and they would have done anything for her. The bag of dog food they had just bought was destined to sit by the dog bowl until one of them could bear to give it away, but for the meantime, it would be a reminder of the precious pet they loved.

The twins had been asking for a dog for years now. Initially, they wanted a puppy, but after a few too many ASPCA commercials, their hearts became set on adopting a dog. Their parents couldn’t have been happier about this change of heart, an adopted dog was much less work than a puppy, and the shelter could tell them a bit about their personality. When mom walked through the door with a dog following close behind her, the twins couldn’t get to the dog fast enough. Without a second of hesitation, that dog was showered in more love than it had gotten for most of its life.

He hated this part of the job. Hated it. It was the worst part, by far. Telling a family, despite all of their efforts and everything that they know about the human body, someone they had in their lives yesterday was gone. It did get a little easier to do over time, but it wasn’t something that he wanted to get easy. He doesn’t want to be able to watch a person break down in front of him and be indifferent. If that day ever comes, that’s the second he’ll find another job. But for now, he tells the family the bad news and waits for the news to sink in and the reactions to start.

This. This is what makes everything worth it. The long days, the even longer nights. All the years of school, all the nights spent writing essays about topics she frankly didn’t care about. This is one of the moments she hopes she’ll never get tired of. The cry of a newborn. The joy on the faces of everybody in the room, even the nurses that had worked in the department for decades. It was the only good type of cry in a hospital. A quick glance at the clock shows time of birth as 9:59 P.M.. The news quickly spreads throughout the family members near and far, happiness radiating off the couple.

_Play._ The second passes and the stories continue. The son drifts off to sleep, the night shift goes on, recovery begins, the collar gets handed over, the toys are broken out, the tears fall, and the newborn settles.


End file.
